Effect of Perioperative Pirfenidone Treatment in Lung Cancer Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF) is a life-threatening complication of lung cancer operation for patients with IPF, and no effective prophylaxis has ever been reported. In this study, we investigate the effect of perioperative treatment with an anti-IPF agent on reduction of the risk of developing AE-IPF.

METHODS: A consecutive series of 50 lung cancer patients with IPF who underwent operations at our institution from October 2006 to October 2014 was retrospectively investigated. Since September 2009, pirfenidone was orally administered to patients from 4 weeks before operation to 4 weeks after operation. Thirty-one patients received the perioperative pirfenidone treatment (PPT), and their clinical outcome was retrospectively compared with that of 19 patients who did not receive PPT.

RESULTS: No differences were found in age, smoking history, sex, vital capacity, KL-6, procedure, or risk score (10.5 ± 2.2 versus 11.2 ± 1.5) between the PPT and non-PPT groups. The incidence of AE-IPF for the PPT/non-PPT groups was 0.0%/10.5% within 30 postoperative days (p = 0.07) and 3.2%/21.1% within 90 postoperative days (p = 0.04), respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant association between PPT and the incidence of AE-IPF within 30 (p = 0.045) and 90 (p = 0.04) postoperative days.

CONCLUSIONS: A prophylactic effect of PPT for postoperative AE-IPF in patients with lung cancer was suggested. Further confirmatory prospective studies should be considered for PPT.